UCPD Wins Grant to Fight Underage Drinking

A state alcohol agency that traditionally only funds city law enforcement has awarded UC Berkeley police a grant to combat underage drinking for the first time in campus history, while also handing Berkeley city police funds for the fourth consecutive year.

With the $40,000 grant, the UC Berkeley police department becomes the first university police force to receive a grant from the State Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control's grant assistance program.

"We understand our responsibility being the first ones to get it," said UC police Lt. Doug Wing.

City police won a grant of $84,300, up from $80,000 last year, said Berkeley police Officer Steve Rego.

In the past, the program has funded only city police forces directly because the program's grants are intended for local agencies. Program officials said they were unsure whether universities and colleges constituted state or local agencies.

But department officials said they decided to offer funds to UC Berkeley this year because campus police "wrote a good grant" and planned to work in conjunction with city police.

Though UC Berkeley was the only campus to receive its own grant, UC San Diego and California State University, San Marcos also received funds in conjunction with local police.

In total, 41 groups received grants totaling $3 million out of a pool of 104 applicants, department officials said.

The funds to campus and city police come as local and state officials report a rise in underage drinking, and local neighborhood associations lodge complaints about a spate of alcohol-related nuisances, including large parties, vandalism, litter and public urination.

"I think it's getting worse," Wing said. "It's very accessible on top of being kind of promoted in the media."

Last spring, UC Berkeley officials set an alcohol moratorium on Greek social events in response to a string of alcohol-related incidents, including a fraternity pledge hazing in which a student was repeatedly shot with air-soft bullets. The moratorium was lifted last fall.

Wing said the new funding will go toward a number of uses, including minor decoy operations, inspections of facilities licensed to serve or sell alcohol, and presentations to help alcohol servers identify fake identification cards and otherwise comply with state laws.

"What this does is give us money to bring officers in on over time that are specifically focused on these areas, so we can do more of it then we were able to do before," he said, adding that campus police will continue collaborating with city police.

There are currently more than 390 alcohol outlets in Berkeley, with some 30 licensed establishments located in the South campus area.

Rego said city police have made headway in controlling underage drinking since they began receiving grants, currently the city's sole source of funding specifically for enforcement of underage drinking laws.

The city has knocked down its noncompliance rate from around 56 percent three years ago to 32 percent today, he said.

"We've had good results with the enforcement we've done in previous years," he said.

But he said underage drinking continues to be a serious issue.

"Too often we see tragedies occur when underage drinking occurs, so it's our goal to do outreach, education and enforcement," Rego said.

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